7 Foods That Keep Us Fat

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicinefound that the quality of the foods that you eat has more to do with weight than the quantity of food. I’ve pulled together a list of foods that keep us fat compiled from various studies as well as recent articles and research.

Potato Chips

The New England Journal of Medicine study stated that the food most strongly associated with weight gain is potato chips. Over time potatoes in general caused the most weight gain though it was potato chips that were the worst and French fries weren’t much better. My suggestion is that if you’re going to eat potato chips or French fries, make them from scratch. The mindless behavior of opening up a bag of salty potato chips is where the problem begins. If you make them from scratch, you can control ingredients and portion size as well and you’ll only end up eating them on very special occasions.

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center recently presented strong data proving that diet soda makes us fat. They found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the more weight they gained.

While the commercials claim that high-fructose corn syrup is fine in moderation, the truth is that the whole problem with high-fructose corn syrup in the first place, is that moderation is seemingly impossible. The syrup interferes with the body’s metabolism so that a person can’t stop eating. It’s truly hard to control cravings because high-fructose corn syrup slows down the secretion of leptin in the body. Leptin is a crucial hormone that tells you that you’re full and to stop eating. That’s why it’s so closely associated with obesity in this country. It’s like an addictive drug.

Red and Processed Meats

The food quality study from The New England Journal of Medicine found that both red and processed meat caused weight gain down the line. Over the course of four years, weight gain was closely linked to both meat varieties and was also inversely related to the amount of vegetables participants ate.

Low Fat Junk Foods

Junk food in itself is a problem but often times when that processed junk becomes low fat it’s even worse. It’s a mind game we play with ourselves which sometimes means justifying over indulgence with the fact that it’s low fat. Additionally, when foods are low fat, manufacturers have to fill in the taste somewhere so they add way too much sugar which sends our emotions on a roller coaster. When we get tired again, we want more.

Diet Microwave Meals

In the weight loss game, the beauty of the microwave meal is that it’s portioned out for you. But that’s really the extent of the benefits. Diet microwave meals have had much of the nutrient density pulled out of them in processing and what’s more, manufacturers often add tons of salt where the fat should be. This bloats us up and causes us to retain water. Instead, make yourself a real meal. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but in the end whole fresh foods are what keep us thin.

[P]ure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein (both contain about 4 calories per gram) and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram). This means that if you want to lose weight and reduce excess body fat, alcohol is not a good choice.

Too much booze also softens our inhibitions so we eat foods we would normally shun. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ever drink but when you do, keep it to one or two drinks.